I have led mission teams to Ecuador for the last 13 years. This year, I took two teams down, one in March and am getting ready to go again the end of July. My team provides free medical care to the poor in Guayaquil, Ecuador. This summer I will have around 80 medical and support personnel and we expect to see around 4,000 patients in 5 days.
This last March, I took a small team of two doctors and support staff to conduct 5 mobile clinics in extremely poor areas. I want you to meet one of the members of my team, Luisa Diez.
Luisa was on my 2006 team when she was 16 years old. Luisa is from Colombia. Because of the political unrest and her father's position in the community, to ensure their safety, her family immigrated to the US when Luisa was 9 years old.
Luisa is a mature, sweet young lady with a servant's heart. Her bilingual skills have been invaluable to my team. Last March, Luisa helped me have a conversation with a pastor and director of a local school in one of the poorest barrios. This school houses over 150 students in a small room hewn out of a rocky hillside.
We discovered that the school's one toilet was not working while we conducted the medical clinic there. Luisa and I asked a lot of questions and found out that the school needed $500 to put in a working bathroom. You can see that the parents and members of the church had begun digging a hole in the rock to prepare for a bathroom installation, but without the funds they were not able to go any further.
Luisa took this project to heart and had a yard sale when she came back to the states. She raised over $600 for the school. She and I will make the presentation of these funds while we are in Ecuador this coming week.
I will be adding to this blog every day with pictures and updates so you can take part in my trip through your thoughts and prayers.
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